Black and white – This is photographer Joakim

Thanks to his father, Joakim discovered his interest in visual arts already as a child. Just over five years ago, he took his photo interest to a more serious level when he needed something as a counterweight to his everyday job that was almost killing him. A lot of interesting things has happened since then and Joakim doesn’t mind sharing some of his stories with us.
So we’ll let him do just that.

Hello Joakim! Would you like to tell me a little bit about who you are and how long you have been a photographer?

Hey! I am a hobby photographer who works everyday as a freelance technician / consultant with sound, lighting and AV solutions, both within installation and what is called the “entertainment and event industry”. The photo interest has actually been there since my childhood, but I took it to a little more serious hobby level just over five years ago, when I realized that my job was almost killing me and that I needed a hobby as a counterweight to all the stress. So I decided to start shooting a little more seriously and to niche myself against portrait and model photos.

Describe your photographic style with three words?

Black and white sensual portraits?

What do you do when you are not photographing?

Wish I could say that I had time for a lot of other leisure activities, traveling, etc., but the majority of the my time, besides shooting / editing it spent on my job right now.

Which photographers or other creative actors are you inspires you?

It is probably pointless to beat around the bush here so I will say that Peter Coulson is a very great source of inspiration. I have had many of his pictures as a basis for my own experiments. Especially when it comes to lighting. Trying to “find the light” so to speak. I usually also look at some of his video tutorials and I always get surprised by how similar we work, both technically and how we approach and work with models etc. hahaha. Patrick Demarchelier, Kesler Tran, Sacha Leyendecker, Pascal Heimlicher and Jan Hansen are also great sources of inspiration. When it comes to Swedish photographers, I think that Jan Persson makes fantastic portraits.

Black and white images usually has a certain calm over them

Model: Apusx2

Is there any inspiration behind your decision to work in black and white?

Yes, it definitely comes from the photographers I just mentioned. I have probably developed a kind of visual sense where my brain tells me that black and white images usually has a certain calm over them, even if they are very emotional. It is a bit difficult to explain, but I think it may have to do with the fact that it does not seem to anchored in reality when you look at black and white pictures. I mean we see our real everyday life in color. I actually do a lot of pictures in color too, but I do not publish these to the same extent anymore.

How did your photo interest begin and how has it evolved over the years?

Oh, as I said I started to take an interest in pictures, drawing and photography already when I was a kid, all thanks to my father. I bought my first own digital camera in 1999. I recall it correctly it was an extremely simple Point n shoot Cybershot from Sony. The purpose with my camera back then was to document a little about my job as a sound and light technician, take tour pictures etc. A bit later I bought a digital system camera and took a lot of pictures of animals and nature, but it was more sporadic until I started with the model photography.

How do you evolve as a human being when you are a photographer?

Personally, during these years working as a model photographer I have developed a great eye for good images. You inevitably evolve a lot through all the people you meet, models, make-up artists, other photographers, etc. Learning from each other is amazingly fun. For example, I know a lot more about makeup and underwear now than I did before I started to photograph models, hahaha. It is not unusual to experience much as a photographer.

Do you have any such unusual or unexpected experiences that you want to share?

I think all photo sessions are very fun and there is always something funny going on. More often than not it is when something goes wrong that it gets really fun. The whole idea I have with just the TFP shootings is, in addition to creating good pictures, that everyone involved should have a fun and an enjoyable moment. If there is no laughter during a photo session, you have are definitely doing something wrong. An unexpected event was perhaps when I was out by the sea one summer to shoot a topless girl posing on a cliff. During the shoot the model notices that another photographer, who was probably there to photograph birds or something, was laying about a 100 meters away, equipped with the world’s longest tele-optic lens. He suddenly got a much more interesting motif in his viewfinder, hahaha.

I might have to refill my camera with some color too

Models from left to right: Starfucked, Ewelina Horoszkiewicz and Valeria Lind

How do you think a professional photography should be shared?

I do not object to the fact that pictures are shared within social platforms, as long as this happens within the platform’s regulations. However, of course I dislike when someone steals / “borrows” pictures and quite simply uploads them elsewhere, usually without even crediting either the photographer or model. At the same time, that is how it works today, unfortunately. I explain to all models that I am photographing that as soon as the pictures is on the Internet, it is to some extent beyond my control and they can show up everywhere, it is even written in my model release. I think that this is something you have to think about as a model. Especially when it comes to easily clad or undressed images.

Does Facebook or Instagram fill any function here? Yes I think so. FB is a good platform for keeping in touch with people in general, and there are some good groups for models and photographers as well. However, Instagram is the primary platform for my photos on social media. It is usually there that I get contacted by models as well. Then I, like many others, have some objection to their regulations about publishing pictures containing some nudity, which I think is completely crazy in 2019. But unfortunately you have no other choice than to adhere to their rules.

What plans and goals do you have for 2019?

Actually, I just want to continue what I do and keep building my portfolio. It feels like I found some kind of basic style in 2018, so I really need to become more consistent and try to hone and develop it. I will also take hold of creating some new collaborations during the year, but unfortunately not all models like black and white pictures, so I might have to refill my camera with some color too… hahaha.

Yes, there you have it. We thank Joakim for his time and the beautiful pictures. Click here to go to Joakim’s website where you can see more of his work. Of course, he also has a Facebook page and an Instagram account that are worth checking out.